The attorney defending a 74-year-old Warren woman against allegations she pilfered hundreds of thousands of dollars from her late husband contends the husband approved of her actions.

Walter Czechowski said that Iwan “John” Hlywa gave permission to Mariya Wintoniw to transfer $340,000 of his money to her children in her native country, Ukraine, as well as to give her several hundred thousands of dollars in cash, bonds and CDs. Czechowski made the remarks Monday during closing arguments in the Macomb County Probate court case pitting Hlywa’s children, Steve and Nick, against their father’s second wife, Wintoniw, whom he married in 2006. The trial began March 4 in front of Judge Carl Marlinga.

The seven-person jury began deliberating Monday afternoon.

The dispute demonstrates the type of court battles that could be on the increase as the population ages.

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Czechowski argued the plaintiffs don’t like how their dad and Wintoniw spent their money and can’t try to retroactively control them.

“There’s no evidence in this contest, this lawsuit, that John’s free will was overcome,” Czechowski told jurors. “Whether you agree with them (their decisions) or whether they makes sense to you doesn’t matter.”

Hlywa planned to take care of his wife in his death, he said.

“She’s the survivor,” he said. “What difference does it make if it (money) went to Ukraine or she went to the casino.”

Hlywa’s sons claim Wintoniw exerted undue influence on the frugal, workaholic Hlywa, who had a third-grade education, as his health was declining. They say she pilfered his money contrary to a prenuptial pact both parties signed at their marriage to keep their assets separate. They accuse Wintoniw of civil fraud, unjust enrichment, undue influence and conversion. They are seeking a judgment of $545,000, which includes the $340,000 transferred to Ukraine as well as the money in CDs, bonds and credit union accounts.

They say that a will executed by the couple in June 2011, three months prior to their father’s death at 83, should be invalid.

The will divided three ways $270,000 in cash, which the plaintiffs say is far less than it should be considering that their father’s assets at the time of the marriage was $1.5 million in money and property. The will also divided six properties three ways. The properties includes three houses on Republic Street in Warren, two vacant parcels and a large farm parcel near Belleville.

“We’re here to seek justice for their dad,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Patrick McQueeney told jurors. “Common sense tells you this man who used to collect rain water to wash his clothes and would not get a hair cut … would not agree to have $340,000 sent to complete strangers in the Ukraine, whom he only met for two months in 2006.”

The couple had separate accounts at a credit union until October 2008 when they created a joint account around the time Wintoniw, who had a green card, received a letter from an immigration official noting there was scant evidence of a legitimate marriage. Before they joined their accounts, $160,000 of the $340,000 was sent to Ukraine.

Czechowski contended that Hlywa approved of the transfers before and afterward, but McQueeney said Hlywa was often in another room at the bank when his wife performed the transactions with a credit union employee.

The sons claim their father became more vulnerable to influence from Wintoniw, especially after he was given six months to live in April 2011. But Czechowski said Hlywa was mentally competent, noting he filed for divorce less than two weeks before he died while he was hospitalized.

Czechowski said Wintoniw loved her husband, to which McQueeney said, “She loved his money; that’s the overriding theme of this case. She felt she was entitled to it.”

About the Author

My beat is the courts of Macomb County and general assignment.
Read more of Jameson Cook's court coverage on his blog http://courthousedish.blogspot.com/ Reach the author at jamie.cook@macombdaily.com
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